NEW YORK – Daniel Penny has been found not guilty of negligent homicide in the choking death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway in 2023.
Penny, 26, pleaded not guilty on charges of second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide.
The judge dismissed the manslaughter charge Friday after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous decision. The jury could only consider the negligent homicide charge if Penny was acquitted of manslaughter.
The word of judgment comes after them deliberated for more than twenty hours. About 15 protesters lined up outside the courthouse Monday and chanted “justice for Jordan Neely.” Inside, Penny’s defense team asked for a mistrial, but was again denied.
The Marine veteran faced a maximum prison sentence of fifteen years for manslaughter, or four years for negligent homicide. There is no minimum sentence.
About the charges
To be convicted of manslaughter, prosecutors had to prove:
- Penny caused Neely’s death
- That he did it so recklessly
- That he was not justified
To be convicted of negligent homicide, prosecutors had to prove the following:
- Penny caused Neely’s death
- That he did this with criminal negligence
- That he was not justified
The death of Jordan Neely
Police and witnesses say Neely, 30, boarded an F train in SoHo on May 1, 2023 and started shouting, throwing things and making threats. Penny, a passenger on the train, approached Neely from behind and tried to restrain him.
The video shows Penny holding Neely in a chokehold on the floor of the train for several minutes until Neely stopped moving. After police arrived, officers administered Narcan to Neely, performed CPR and used an AED, but were unable to revive him. Neely was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say Neely had no weapons with him.
A medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide three days latercaused by neck compression. Toxicology reports showed Neely had synthetic marijuana in his system when he died.
Neely it was a street performer and Michael Jackson impersonator who was homeless and struggled with mental illness after his mother was murdered in 2007.
Video of Penny putting Neely in a chokehold was widely circulated online. Neely’s death sparked an outburst protests across New York Citywith many raising concerns about the need for better mental health care in town, and Neely’s family called for Penny’s arrest.
Penny turned herself in on May 12, 2023 was initially charged with second-degree murder and released on $100,000 bail. That was him indicted in June and pleaded not guilty to negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter.
Penny, a Navy veteran, defended his actions, saying: he tried to protect other passengers on the train by restraining Neely.
Death trial on the New York subway
End of October 2024 a jury of twelve people and four alternates were selected and sworn in. They included seven women and five men, with at least seven white people, one Hispanic person, one Filipino person, one black person and one person of Middle Eastern descent.
The trial started on November 1.
The persecution argued in their opening statements that even though Penny had good intentions, he recklessly used excessive force without attempting any other means to de-escalate the situation. The defense, meanwhile, argued that Penny was protecting other passengers and that there was no other way to de-escalate due to Neely’s behavior.
Jurors heard testimony from multiple witnesses, including police officers, MTA employees, passengers in the train And a bystander who helped Penny restrain Neely. Penny’s Martial arts instructor in the Marine Corps And the medical examiner who performed Neely’s autopsy also took the stand. The defense called Penny’s mother and platoon sergeants as character witnessestogether with a forensic pathologist who said he disagreed with the medical examiner’s cause of death.
Jurors started their deliberations on Tuesday. They sent two notes back to the judge. The first requested that part of the judge’s instructions be read back. The second note asked the judge if they could return for deliberations on Wednesday, a day they would normally have been free. The judge approved that request.
On Wednesday morning, the jurors sent another note requesting a video compilation from police bodycams of the incident, as well as footage of Penny’s interview at the police station. Jurors also asked to read back the medical examiner’s cross-examination.
On Friday morning, on the fourth day of deliberations, they sent a note to the judge indicating that they could not reach a unanimous verdict on his manslaughter charge.
